(This editorial appeared on p. 10 of the December 25, 1930, issue of Christian Standard.)
The Festival of
the Second Mile
Christmas . . .
is a special glorification of unselfishness. Essentially the Christmas spirit
is the spirit of doing, at least to one’s loved ones, the things that will make
them happy. We study for a month or so the wishes of these friends; we endeavor
to learn from their own actions and from the observations of those near them
“what they want;” then we proceed to give them what they want. And we find an
unwonted happiness in doing that.
The Christmas
spirit is, therefore, the practice of the Golden Rule. All of us practice it
with respect to those nearest us, and many of us rejoice to do it even with
respect to strangers as we endeavor to bring Christmas cheer to poor and
unfortunate ones, the fatherless and the widow. The genuine Christmas spirit
rises above the idea of “What am I going to get?” and asks “What can I give?”
The true Christmas spirit wipes out selfishness and finds exalted happiness in
the effort to please. What is finer than the thrill that comes with the release
of the bated breath when we have our answer to the question, “I wonder whether
he will like it?”
Now we seem to
have a very difficult time finding it out, but that Christmas spirit is
precisely the Christian spirit. What we do at Christmas is exactly what Jesus
teaches us to do the year round. It is the mystery of happiness that Jesus
sought to unfold to the world in his Sermon on the Mount. To a world steeped in
selfishness and increasingly unhappy in that condition, Jesus brings the
remedy—to practice the Christmas attitude the year round, to live always from
the standpoint of the other person’s well-being.
This is the
philosophy of the second mile. It is the doctrine of giving the cloak also. It
is the triumph of unselfishness. It is the study of the well-being of our
fellows with the purpose to do our part to bring that well-being to fruition.
What a vital
doctrine this is is made quite evident by the very fact that, when human nature
is once possessed by it, there comes to be a relish in overcoming all
unfavorable conditions. Christmas spirit thrives upon obstacles. Hard times,
severe weather, unusual difficulties, challenge the real Christmas spirit. We
who are accustomed to snow at that season come to desire a cold, white
Christmas, as if we wanted a foil for the warmth of our spirits.
That is precisely
what underlies the whole Christian morality. The Christian is not taught to
desire ideal conditions, but to surmount unfavorable ones by the power of a
renewed spirit, and especially to surmount such conditions as they appear in
the hearts of those about him. He is to make it his aim to win even his
mean-spirited brother and to make this conquest by the generosity of his own
nature.
If, now, this
Christmas spirit is the Christian spirit in essence, what possible excuse can
there be for limiting it to a few weeks? Certainly we ought not to allow the
season to go by without having the spirit, but, when it has gone, what possible
excuse can there be for turning back to the beggarly elements of the world
after having tasted of the joys of the Christian spirit and attitude? Why
should one want to wallow in the mire of selfishness after having known the
luxury of practicing the Golden Rule? There is but one answer to that question:
The practice of the Golden Rule is not a matter of morality alone. It requires
a dynamic of large proportions to make it work. It does not work itself. Men
need to be captured and transformed by Jesus in order to practice it as the
normal thing in their lives. The fact that all professed Christians have been
captured by Jesus so that they are slaves to Him.
The new year will
bring happiness if the spirit that makes Christmas merry is carried throughout
the year—and that can be done only by surrender to the Christ.
Contact us at cs@christianstandardmedia.com
0 Comments